Chapter III.XXXI (3.31) - Necro’s Attack

  Kizu appeared suddenly in an enclosed space. Chiame’s hand still rested on his shoulder. He blinked and let his eyes adjust. His bond with Mort pointed his familiar far, far above him. That was bad.

  “We’re in the World Dungeon,” Kizu said.

  “Astute. Yes, this is where we’re keeping Mitsuko. Follow me.”

  She started down a dark stone hallway. The witch didn’t bother to look back. She clearly knew he wouldn’t lag behind. Not here.

  He followed her until they entered an archway into a sitting room. There were cloth couches in front of a warm fireplace and there was even carpet flooring. It looked homely, completely unlike anything else Kizu had seen in the World Dungeon before, but he wasn’t surprised. He’d read of entire abandoned cities existing down here.

  “Sit,” Chiame gestured at the couch. “I’ll go get your victim.”

  He remained standing as she exited the room. He bit his lip. The love potion’s effects were rapidly fading, but the anxiety remained.

  She returned, dragging Mitsuko’s limp body behind her by a single arm. The girl’s entire torso was drenched in blood that stained the carpet. The girl didn’t resist, but Kizu heard her rapid intakes of breath and the wheezes of breath as she clung to life. Her arm flopped on the floor when Chiame released it. Mitsuko’s eyes darted around in a panic. He thought she was trying to say something, but the words were completely lost by her wheezes as she slowly died.

  “Ugh. Thankfully you’re at least thin,” Chiame complained. She kicked the downed girl. “Heavy enough though. Stop your moaning. You’re not a zombie yet. Stop acting like one.”

  Kizu watched, transfixed in horror as Chiame knelt, jabbed her hand into Mitsuko’s exposed wound, and started digging around. Mitsuko’s eyes rolled back in pain, but was paralyzed by a hex. After a minute, Chiame yanked her hand out and muttered about wasting resources before pouring a healing potion over the gaping hole in Mitsuko’s body.

  “There, that’s done. Don’t go saying I don’t keep my word.”

  “She’ll be okay?” Kizu asked. He watched Mitsuko’s body twitch but her chest continued to rise and fall. She went unconscious as the gash in her stomach solidified into a gnarly scar that stretched across the flesh under her ribs.

  “You don’t have your atlas or bell,” Chiame said, ignoring his question. “Even if you know how to long distance jump, which I don’t think you do, you won’t be getting out of here. Sekai likes to change. Even more so this deep in his belly. Nearly impossible to predict how he will choose to move.”

  Unless you had an anchor like she obviously had. Something tying her to the surface. It would need to be incredibly powerful, most spatial mages were incapable of jumping in and out of the World Dungeon. With a long distance jump, he’d still only have less than a ten percent chance of success while using Mort as an anchor. She must have something truly unique. Likely an artifact.

  “What are you talking about?” Kizu didn’t know how she knew about the atlas or bell, but he didn’t plan to reveal any information about them.

  She snorted. “Necro is currently claiming them as we speak. No need to be coy about their existence. We know everything.”

  Kizu blinked. “But…he said he’d wait outside.”

  “You met with a simulacrum. You didn’t actually think he’d risk walking into a trap? Idiot.”

  Kizu scrambled to connect to Mort through their bond. The owl monkey was at peace sleeping in his old spot beside Kizu’s futon by the fireplace in the crone’s hut. Kizu couldn’t exactly explain his horrible situation to the familiar, but he did his best through images and feelings.

  Mort leaped into action. He dragged Kizu’s bag away from the chair he’d left it on and over to Taroe who stood, staring at a window. The window’s reflection showed Basil sitting in the inn, eating his food. The Elite medic frowned at the divination scene, likely trying to figure out where Kizu was.

  Then the hut’s wall blasted apart, shrapnel spraying across the interior. Mort narrowly dodged out of the way of a metal pan that had been hanging on the wall.

  Taroe whirled around, facing his opponents.

  Necro stood in the opening, smiling at Taroe. A massive multi-headed draconic creature stood behind him. It only took a moment for Kizu to recognize it as a hydra. Only the center of its three heads matched the dark green scales of its body. The colors clashed with two of its heads, the left and right heads were red and yellow respectively. The red head spat a glob of molton spit at the Elite.

  Taroe raised his arms and blasted a wave of water into its side, deftly managing to deflect the attack. But the hydra’s molton glob still detonated as it slammed into the other side of the hut. Not as powerful as the first, but still enough to blow a new gash in the wall large enough to walk through.

  “Run!” Taroe commanded the others. He didn’t take his eyes off the beast in front of him. His shield of water hovered in front of him, the only thing separating him from the hydra and necromancer.

  Anata, as per usual, did not listen to adults. Instead, she rushed forward.

  “Go away!” she shouted at the monster and necromancer.

  Nothing happened.

  Anata’s eyes widened in horror.

  “Go away! Leave us alone!”

  Necro laughed.

  “Is this the Harbinger I’ve heard so much about? Don’t worry, you can show us more of your glamour after we leave. I have someone special to introduce you to.”

  “You’re not going to take her,” Taroe growled. “Not while I’m alive.”

  But Ione hadn’t been sitting back and watching.

  A two headed bear crashed down from the loft above Necro’s head. The necromancer stumbled and fell backward in surprise, his smile slipping from his face as the bear crushed his leg. He cried out in pain. The hydra stepped in and slammed its middle head into the bear, knocking it off Necro while electricity crackled between the yellow head’s teeth.

  The bear howled in outrage with one head while the other buried its jaws into the green hydra head’s cheek. Then the yellow’s teeth bit into the bear’s side. Ione’s summon stiffened as electricity coursed through it, but it didn’t release the green’s face. If anything, it bit down harder.

  Taroe deflected yet another fire blast from the red head, this time managing to send it through the previous hole and out of the building. But while the Elite had skill and technique with the water, it was clear he lacked the raw strength of a true elementalist.

  Necro saw this too. He smiled, his broken bone snapping back into shape with a shake of his leg. He stepped towards Anata.

  But Mort was faster. During the fight, the monkey had gotten ahold of the bell from Kizu’s bag and now leaped onto Anata’s back while holding the artifact with his back leg.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Kizu felt Mort channel through him, taking some of his blood as he jumped himself and Anata out of the building. Unfortunately, it lacked Kizu’s normal blood’s power. Instead of appearing in the jungle like intended, Mort only transported Anata to the grass outside.

  “The bell!” Necro roared from inside. “Forget the bear and stupid human! That monkey has the bell!”

  The hydra attempted to turn itself around but that gave Taroe and Ione’s summon openings. Both assaulted the creature and pinned it down. The bear bore down on the hydra with its raw weight while Taroe managed to freeze the green snout to the floor.

  Necro ran after Mort and Anata. Two zombies lumbered up from the bushes nearby. Kizu felt his familiar preparing another jump. But he didn’t need to.

  A multicolored bird twice the size of a condor swooped down and tore its talons into the necromancer’s face, knocking him off his feet and sending him sprawling into the mud.

  Then Ione dropped down from the roof, a twin bird holding onto her shoulders and flapping to break her fall as she landed beside Mort and Anata.

  “Mort, you go with her,” Ione said, transferring the large bird over to Anata’s shoulders. “I’ll catch up. I can track my summons.” Then she turned her back to them and faced off against the zombies.

  Mort’s only response was to climb up onto Anata’s head and cling to the girl as the bird beat its wings and took flight with them. It took only a few seconds before the hut completely disappeared behind them as they weaved through the jungle.

  Then Kizu snapped back to attention. What could he do? How had they managed to gain access to the crone’s hut? They hadn’t tracked them. Basil was still at the pub drinking and waiting for Kizu. The changeling should also be immune to mind reading. And besides, Basil would only barely have more of an idea of how to get through the crone’s wards than anyone else in the village. It had to be a leak from the Elites. They were the only ones other than Kizu and the crone who knew how to access the hut.

  He took stock of his current tools. His spells would be unreliable for a few more days still. But he had both his rings, his ice sword one and his spatial storage ring. That ring gave him access to a lot of potion materials, but only a dozen or so prepared brews. He hadn’t had enough time or resources to prepare potions these last couple weeks. Most of what he had was just leftovers from what he’d made over the past few months while experimenting after Brewing S classes. He was only one person and so much of his recent time had been dedicated to improving his spellcraft, not focused on brewing. But he at least had a few potions ready. A couple for healing wounds and one for clearing congestion. Two of the freezing ice potions that Allik had taught him how to make. A bunch of hyper-adhesive potions he’d brewed as a class project. A water-breathing potion. Three of his firebomb potions. Half a dozen soul uniting potions. And a couple medicinal experiments that hadn’t panned out. Nothing incredibly useful for his current situation.

  Chimae stood, completely oblivious to what he had just witnessed.

  “Come, your friend wants to speak to you.”

  She motioned for him to follow as she exited the comfortable sitting room.

  Kizu barely heard Chiame’s words or processed her leaving the room. He remained where he was for half a minute, still trying to sort through his thoughts. Mort was safe. Anata was safe. Mort still had the bell, that was good. Necro knew of it and wanted it. Unfortunately, the atlas had been left behind. Mort simply didn’t have the strength to carry its weight. And Taroe likely didn’t know it was there. Hopefully, Taroe and Ione could chase off the hydra and the necromancer and that wouldn’t be an issue.

  Unable to do anything else, Kizu stood and trailed after Chiame into a hallway.

  The witch dragged Mitsuko by one leg behind her. Kizu bent and lifted the girl and carried her. The love potion’s effects were over now, but he’d just recklessly tossed himself into extreme danger for this girl. He jeopardized his life to save her. He’d rather she didn’t get her skull cracked as she was dragged around.

  Kizu blinked in surprise as Chiame brought him into a new room. Sacks filled with hay lay strewn across the floor, probably meant for sleeping, but it was distinctly not designed as a bedroom. Instead, musical instruments lined the walls and a massive organ sat in the center of the room. Kizu spotted instruments from cultures all over the world, including many odd ones he didn’t recognize.

  The second thing he noticed about the room was the young girl sitting on one of the sacks, she was blowing into a recorder which let out a harsh whistle. She looked up, her pasty skin and red eyes familiar. Every joint of her body was lined with deep black stitches that held her flesh into place.

  “Shika?” Kizu asked, startled.

  “Kizu!” She smiled at him. Kizu noticed she was missing several of her teeth and that her gums were starting to blacken with rot.

  “Ah yes, a touchingly warm reunion,” Chiame said. “You two can keep one another company until Necro returns.”

  She turned on her heel and slammed the door behind her. As it closed, Kizu felt his bond with Mort instantly sever. The loneliness slammed into him like a breaking wave.

  Then Kizu noticed the third strange aspect of the room. The glyphs etched into the trim lining the ceiling. Extremely familiar glyphs.

  He dropped Mitsuko on one of the sacks of hay and ran to the door. The door knob remained stuck in place, as if frozen in time. He slammed his fist into the door. But it didn’t open.

  “A time dilation chamber,” Kizu spat.

  It made sense. What better prison than somewhere cut off from the flow of time? Without Anata’s divination skills, the room left him entirely in the dark.

  “There’s food in the corner. I think they thought I would go feral if I didn’t eat.” Shika giggled. “I did try to eat them. But not because I was hungry.”

  Kizu went to the corner and found a large basket full of bread and flasks of prepared soup. The basket had a preservation enchantment to keep the food from molding. At least he wouldn’t go hungry for a few weeks.

  “Why are you here?” Kizu asked the zombie girl.

  “I don’t know,” she said dismissively. “I’m happy you’re here now though! We can play games!”

  Kizu frowned and considered.

  “Blackmail,” he decided. “They wanted your father to sell us out.”

  “Maybe! I’m surprised he’s not here yet. He likes to cast spells on me before I get so smelly.”

  By ‘smelly,’ Kizu suspected she meant rotten. It was only slight, her blackened mouth and a milkyness to her eyes, but Hone was meticulous about keeping his zombified daughter in good health. Most people wouldn’t usually be able to tell she was a zombie at all.

  “How long have you been here?”

  She shrugged. “Time is such a mortal thing.”

  “Shika, please focus. Do you have an estimate at all?”

  “Well, they did a load of experiments on me when I first got here. A skinny guy named Necro liked to talk to me. But he was really weird. He had zombies too, but his were so goofy compared to Pa’s. They barely ever listened to instructions. I think he wanted to try bossing me around. But that doesn’t work. Even Pa doesn’t tell me what to do.”

  “He tried to seize control of you?” Kizu’s frown deepened. “And after he realized he couldn’t, Necro tossed you in here?”

  “Yep, pretty much.”

  Kizu began to pace around their room. It was larger than Anata’s prison had been. At least three or four times the size. And with food, talkative company, and instruments at his disposal, he’d at least have entertainment. But he had no idea how dilated the room was compared to Anata’s. One hour outside was, what? Three here? Five? A day? Still. Chiame hadn’t confiscated his things when she’d dropped him off here. He hadn’t brought much into town with him, but he at least had a notebook and enchanted quill in one of his side pockets. He took them out and started sketching.

  “What are you doing?” Shika asked, standing on her tiptoes to get a look at the paper he wrote on. “Let me see.”

  “Last time I got stuck in one of these I regretted not studying the glyphs used for temporal enchantments. This time I want to record them immediately. There’s no telling when that door might open again, but it’s better to do this now then get caught halfway through later.”

  “They open the door all the time,” Shika said.

  Kizu paused his writing and looked over at his old friend. “How often?”

  “I don’t know. Tons.”

  Even more of a reason for him to prioritize recording the glyphs. But that was also good news. It meant he’d have opportunities to escape sooner than later.

  “Who exactly are the Death Party?” Kizu asked Shika as he sketched. “Do you know their capabilities? Strengths? Weaknesses?”

  “Hm. Well some are necromancers. But they’re all pretty bad compared to Pa. Like, they can make a skeleton or zombie, but nothing impressive. And then there are some witches like your Ma.”

  “The crone is not my mother.” Kizu sighed and shook his head. “We’ve been over this.”

  “And I still think you’re lying! She acts like a Ma.”

  “She really, really doesn’t.”

  Mitsuko groaned on the floor.

  “I don’t like her very much,” Shika said, looking down at the pretty girl. “They dropped her off here a little while ago, and then she transformed to look like one of the witches. And when she turned back, she started bleeding all over. Look.”

  Shika gestured at one of the sacks of hay in the corner of the room. It was coated in fresh blood. Kizu walked over to it and tapped it with a finger. Not enough time had passed to solidify it into a stain. Kizu wondered if he could use that as a base to help him measure how long time passed outside. How long had he been in the room with Chiame as she healed Mitsuko? Maybe ten or fifteen minutes? So the accelerated time couldn’t be more than three or four times. Around the same as Anata’s room. Perhaps that was the standard for rooms like this. It was also interesting because it meant that the hex’s effects remained while Mitsuko was inside the room. But that wasn’t too surprising seeing as Anata had been able to break free of her prison using powerful divination astral projection while sealed away. There were ways around the isolation effect.

  Mitsuko screamed as she awoke to Shika glaring down at her. Then she saw the wound in her stomach and she began to weep. Meanwhile Shika pointed and started giggling at her.

  Suddenly, Kizu got the suspicion this might be a far worse experience than his stay with Anata. At least then the company had been silent. Perhaps Necro would return soon and he’d be freed from this.